Chương 74: Episode 19: Break It Down

SLASH. Ice-cold blue blood sprayed as my axe split another ice gremlin in half. Two more rushed me from behind, so I spun fast and sliced both down in one clean sweep. From behind me, Eddy hollered, "YOU'RE DOING GREAT, BIG GUY, KEEP IT UP!" I twisted left, cleaving another gremlin open. One's throat met my blade, and I hurled its body skyward before turning to stab another.

A quick backflip put me behind one more, and I drove my fist straight through its back, feeling the blood gush over my knuckles before yanking my hand free. The gremlin staggered, dropped to its knees, and collapsed face-first onto the ice.

"That's all of them," I muttered, turning to Eddy, who lounged lazily on a snow pile like she was sunbathing.

"She said I had to fight the basics so the rest of the Earth Knights could learn how to handle themselves better. Basically me fighting weaker opponents strengthens them, and me. Worth the training, I guess…" I sighed, lowering my axe.

"If only Strength were here…" T-Ex huffed beside Eddy, watching me carve through half the gremlins without lifting a claw. Just as I caught my breath, another gremlin darted out from behind a jagged shard of ice, rushing me with gibberish spilling from its mouth. I barely blinked, swinging my hand to slice its head clean off. Blood sprayed in an arc as the body crumpled.

"Yup. Now that's all of them. What now?" I asked, brushing ice off my gauntlet. Eddy yawned, sinking deeper into the snow.

"Oh, I don't know… maybe summon the Earth Knight army again, see if they can handle gremlins this time." I smirked, then crouched down to the glowing shard at my feet, picking it up and whispering, "Kick ass…" Green energy swirled from the air, and fifty armored Earth Knights materialized behind me with weapons drawn. Leading them was Concray, my strongest knight, towering in jagged stone armor and wielding a massive blade that could probably split a mountainside in two. I turned to him.

"Don't fight. Let your crew handle this. I wanna see what they can do without you. They'll be more useful if they can stand on their own when you're in danger." Concray gave a stiff nod, silent and loyal. I snapped my fingers, despawning him instantly and leaving the army behind. Gripping my axe, I stomped down hard. The ice cracked wide, splitting across the ground like spiderwebs as jagged shards in front of me split open, releasing nearly a hundred shrieked ice gremlins that charged forward.

The Earth Knights roared back and met them head-on. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. I stepped back to stand alongside Eddy and T-Ex, watching. Steel clashed as Knights cut through the gremlins with brutal efficiency, but not all of them held strong. Some stumbled under the gremlins' ferocity, though their allies were quick to back them up. Swords slashed, blood sprayed, and bodies fell as Knights leapt through the air with flashing blades.

I spotted the weakness immediately. The Earth Knights with muskets fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the melee fighters. They landed shots, but their reloads left them exposed, and they were dying faster than the rest. For every gremlin that dropped, another Knight with a musket fell. Eddy noticed the look on my face.

"What's with the face?" she asked, half-sunk in her snow throne.

"Strategy," I muttered, stroking my chin.

"Stellar said these Earth Knights weren't intelligent, but she also said I could make them intelligent. Muskets and archers should be in the back, swords and daggers in the middle, hammers and axes up front where the armor's thickest. Formation like that could change everything." Eddy shrugged.

"Sounds like extra homework."

"Sounds like survival," I countered, vaulting onto T-Ex's back. The battle dragged on until the ice was soaked in blood and only thirteen Earth Knights were left standing. The rest had fallen, but the gremlins were wiped out.

"Right! The shard!" I barked. I hopped off T-Ex and slid across the slick ice to where the shard gleamed in a pool of blue and green blood. Snatching it up, I rushed to my backpack, zipped it tight, and slung it over my armored shoulder. I vaulted back onto T-Ex, snapping the exhausted Knights out of existence with a flick.

"Let's get some food," I muttered, patting T-Ex's plated hide.

"We'll need it if we're gonna survive out here. And it's getting cold…" T-Ex's massive legs pounded the frozen ground, snow erupting around us with every step. Eddy clung tight behind me, muttering something about frostbite, but I barely registered it because the cyan blur was back, streaking across the cliffs like a neon pest. I leaned forward, pressing against T-Ex's scaled neck.

"You've got to be kidding me. Still following us?" It zig-zagged across the tundra, just far enough that I couldn't make out a face, leaving only a glowing cyan streak like lightning caught in a body. I rubbed my temple.

"Fifth time tonight, T-Ex. Fifth. If I don't figure out who or what that is soon, I'm gonna lose it." T-Ex let out a low, rumbling growl as nostrils flared and eyes fixed on the shimmer. Eddy peeked over my shoulder with wide eyes.

"It's so fast, like it's taunting us."

"Exactly. A show-off," I muttered, jaw tight. I was about to yell at the thing again when the night sky tore open in a flash of fire and cyan light. The blast painted the snowfields gold and blue as the shockwave slammed into us. T-Ex stumbled slightly, claws scrabbling for traction on the ice while I dug my heels into his sides to hold on.

"Holy…!" Eddy shrieked, ducking low. My eyes stayed locked on the glow burning on the horizon as smoke curled high like a signal fire. T-Ex let out a deafening roar, tail whipping to maintain balance as he bolted toward the blast. Every step shook the ground beneath us, his raw power carving a path through the frozen wasteland.

"Yeah, boy. We're going," I muttered, tightening my grip on his scaled shoulders.

"If Glowstick wants attention, they've got it." As we thundered closer, I caught that cyan blur again, perched far ahead on a cliff with its glow pulsing against the smoke, waiting.

"Keep running," I growled under my breath.

"Sooner or later, you're mine."